DESCRIPTION(Provided by Applicant): The Albert Einstein College of Medicine has a commitment to providing training to physicians and biomedical researchers in the clinical care of patients with rheumatic diseases and in the research methodologies to advance our current understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of these diseases. The training grant focuses on the role of B cells in rheumatic diseases. We propose to enlist clinical and basic researchers, many of whom are rheumatologists actively engaged in clinical care to train predoctoral PhD and MD/PhD students and postdoctoral PhD and MD fellows in B cell biology and rheumatic autoimmune diseases. We believe the integration of basic and clinical research in the proposed training program is a significant strength and will encourage trainees to pursue disease-oriented research. There is a focus on intensive training in bioinformatics, which should facilitate translational studies. The training program will provide a strong foundation in the performance and ethics of clinical studies. The institution has a strong track record in minority training. The resources of the institution, strength of the facility and commitment to an integration of basic and disease-related research should provide an outstanding program for pre- and post-doctoral trainees interested in understanding the immune system and its aberrant function in patients with rheumatic diseases.